Storm victims organize Secret Sandy gift exchange

John Hardy, left, and his son, Liam, 13, visit the charred remains of his wife\'s parents home in the Breezy Point section of the Queens borough of New York, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012. A fire destroyed more than 100 homes in the oceanfront community during Superstorm Sandy.(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

WASHINGTON – Two women who survived superstorm Sandy are putting a new twist on the popular holiday gift exchange known as Secret Santa.

Television producer Joy Huang and Kimberley Berdy, a biochemist-turned actress, started the website secretsandy.org to collect and distribute gifts to children of families affected by the storm.

Huang, a Queens, N.Y. native, volunteered in the Rockaways during the storm. She lost power for six days in her Greenwich Village home after the storm.

Berdy, who lives in Hoboken, N.J., lost power and heat in her home for eight days and was forced to evacuate following Sandy.

It was while volunteering with friends the two realized that their work could have a larger impact.

“We were like, ‘Oh, it’s not just for the girls that we know. It’s for all the families we don’t know,'” Huang says. “And, it just kind of snowballed from there.”

The site launched on Nov. 19. Wish lists will be sent through Amazon’s Wish List site. Gifts will go directly to a child or family who needs them, Huang says.

Anyone who wants to give a gift can fill out a registration form. Families can also sign up to receive gifts by filling out a “Dear Secret Sandy” letter. The deadline to submit a letter through regular mail is Dec. 8.